Adirondacks, N.Y. Family Vacations

Families will love:

Winter Olympic sites

Downtown Lake Placid

Six million acres of outdoor adventure space

When people think of the Adirondacks, they envision mountains of green and mirror-like lakes, and when they do, they are absolutely right. The Adirondacks, located in upstate New York near the Canadian border, are a collection of 46 mountain peaks and 3,000 cool, calm lakes that fill six million acres, including 2.3 million acres of protected forest. There are 30,000 ... more

When people think of the Adirondacks, they envision mountains of green and mirror-like lakes, and when they do, they are absolutely right. The Adirondacks, located in upstate New York near the Canadian border, are a collection of 46 mountain peaks and 3,000 cool, calm lakes that fill six million acres, including 2.3 million acres of protected forest. There are 30,000 miles of rivers and streams and 2,000 miles of nature trails.

This is where the likes of Thoreau, Hawthorne and Emerson spent time and were inspired to write. This is also an outdoor lover's paradise. In the summer, hiking, fishing, boating, rock climbing and swimming are popular activities, while winter transforms the gorgeous scenery into a place for ice climbing, ice fishing, skiing, snowboarding and more.

The area is also home to an Olympic site. In 1932 and 1980, Lake Placid hosted the Winter Olympic Games, and Olympic pride and history runs rampant in the Adirondacks. Whiteface Mountain, in particular, is closest to Lake Placid and hosted some Olympic events in 1980.

Families will love a visit to the Adirondacks. This is old-fashioned, good fun, where kids and parents can disconnect from their DS, Wi-Fi and cell phones and can just enjoy playing together in the great outdoors.